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Mauricio Pochettino made the bizarre decision to move Danny Rose into central midfield during the north London derby against Arsenal.

Tactical tweak

Victor Wanyama returned to the starting eleven on Saturday lunchtime in the absence of Harry Winks, but he was understandably withdrawn after 59 minutes with a lack of match fitness naturally playing on his manager’s mind.

With Tottenham chasing the game and Oliver Skipp the only recognised central midfielder on the substitutes bench, Erik Lamela was sent on to replace the Kenya international, a switch which forced Rose to move into unfamiliar territory in central midfield as Jan Vertonghen shifted onto the left side of a flat back four.

Ultimately the decision paid off as Spurs clinched a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the Gunners, but the fact Pochettino was forced into a bizarre tactical tweak underlined a glaring problem which needs to be addressed.

Alarming lack of alternative options

Simply put, the Argentine’s options in central midfield are incredibly scarce – a problem which has been intensified by the mid-season departure of Mousa Dembele.

In his defence, Rose didn’t look completely out of place in the heart of midfield, but in a fixture of such profound importance to the Lilywhites faithful it was a damning indictment on Spurs’ lack of options that Pochettino was forced to rely on a makeshift option.

If Tottenham want to end a predictable pattern in the Premier League and finally banish an unwanted reputation as England’s nearly club they simply must address a huge problem area in the summer window.